Economics for Dummies

Not to throw two radio shows at you in a row - but if anyone has yet to check it out, last week's This American Life is worth a listen. The show has made a name for itself examining the minute and unexamined - making even the most mundane life seem interesting. But they also do a really excellent job with hard news. Last year, they did the most thorough report on the mortgage crisis - detailing from the very micro to the very macro level about what went wrong. The report, The Giant Pool of Money, is absolutely worth checking out for anyone that hasn't heard it yet. I honestly think it was one of the best pieces of reporting I heard all year, not because it was uncovering anything profound or groundbreaking, but because it really explained something that so many other articles glossed over. With this week's episode, Alex Blumberg and Adam Davidson, who produced the first one as well, do another great job - well, dumbing this whole "economy" thing down for people like me. Just today I was reading a New Yorker article that was talking about toxic assets and balance sheets and liabilities - and while I could generally get the gist of the whole thing before, it was nice to actually really understand it. Give those two a listen. And support public radio.